Crashes and near-crashes on horizontal curves along rural two-lane highways: Analysis of naturalistic driving data

IntroductionPrior research has shown the probability of a crash occurring on horizontal curves to be significantly higher than on similar tangent segments, and a disproportionally higher number of curve-related crashes occurred in rural areas. Challenges arise when analyzing the safety of horizontal curves due to imprecision in integrating information as to the temporal and spatial characteristics of each crash with specific curves.MethodsThe second Strategic Highway Research Program(SHRP 2) conducted a large-scale naturalistic driving study (NDS),which provides a unique opportunity to better understand the contributing factors leading to crash or near-crash events. This study utilizes high-resolution behavioral data from the NDS to identify factors associated with 108 safety critical events (i.e., crashes or near-crashes) on rural two-lane curves. A case-control approach is utilized wherein these events are compared to 216 normal, baseline-driving events. The variables examined in this study include driver demographic characteristics, details of the traffic environment and roadway geometry, as well as driver behaviors such as in-vehicle distractions.ResultsLogistic regression models are estimated to discern those factors affecting the likelihood of a driver being crash-involved. These factors include high-risk behaviors, such as speeding and visual distractions, as well as curve design elements and other roadway characteristics such as pavement surface conditions.ConclusionsThis paper successfully integrated driver behavior, vehicle characteristics, and roadway environments into the same model. Logistic regression model was found to be an effective way to investigate crash risks using naturalistic driving data.Practical ApplicationsThis paper revealed a number of contributing factors to crashes on rural two-lane curves, which has important implications in traffic safety policy and curve geometry design. This paper also discussed limitations and lessons learned from working with the SHRP 2 NDS data. It will benefit future researchers who work with similar type of data.     

A geographical perspective on driving attitudes and behaviour among young adults in urban and rural Norway

Studies have shown that the driver’s risk behaviour is a significant contributor to the difference in road traffic accident risk between urban and rural areas. The aim of the study is to achieve a better understanding of the relatively high risk for rural youths compared to urban youths. A cross-sectional survey with 484 drivers aged 19–24 years is used to compare self-reported risk behaviour in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. A stratified random sample was made to ensure respondents from different area types. The results show an urban–rural gradient in risk-taking behaviour. Attitudes towards road safety partly explain individual variation in risk behaviour; however, they fail to erase the urban–rural gradient. The findings suggest a complex interaction of the system risk (the road environment) and elements of risk-culture beyond road safety attitudes.     

国外乡村公路交通安全水平

收集和整理了美国、加拿大、英国、澳大利亚等国关于乡村公路交通安全的管理和研究成果;归纳国外乡村公路的定义;分析乡村公路在交通事故数量、伤亡人数、死伤率等方面的基本情况。笔者通过对国外乡村公路交通安全水平研究,有如下3个结论:第一,目前还没有一个被普遍接受的乡村公路的定义;第二,乡村公路的交通事故后果比城市道路严重得多;第三,乡村公路交通安全水平提高的速度比城市道路慢;吸取国外乡村公路交通安全管理经验,为我国农村公路交通安全水平的改善提供有益的借鉴。     

Risk-optimal highway design: Methodology and case studies

Highway geometric design in mountainous areas has been a typical challenge. The combination of short horizontal curves and restricted right-of-way is a common ground for contemplating design exception in British Columbia, Canada. In practice, collision modification factors (CMFs) are advocated as quantitative measures of changes in road features on safety. However, in many situations, there are no CMFs in the literature to predict the safety impact of changing particular road features. An important example of these road features is sight distance restriction on horizontal curves. A mechanism for risk measurement has been proposed in earlier work to assist designers in comparing the safety impact of different deviations from sight distance requirements. This paper attempts to answer the questions as to whether it is possible to reduce overall risk and achieve consistency in such reduction without demanding wider right-of-way. This problem was formulated in a multi-objective optimization framework. Following this methodology, it was possible to achieve an average reduction in risk of 25% on the nine critical cross-sections. This reduction in risk was achieved without demanding wider right-of-way and without creating measurable increase in expected collision frequency due to independent re-dimensioning of different geometric elements. On theoretical grounds, this paper represents another step into the direction of developing fully probabilistic geometric design standards. On practical grounds, this paper provides an important decision mechanism that enables the efficient use of available right-of-way for new highway construction. Case studies in this paper have been applied on a major highway development in British Columba, Canada.     

Introducing roadside hazard severity indicator based on evidential reasoning approach

Safety experts have, in recent years, been attentive to roadside accident severity and occurrence. Hitherto, to prioritize road segment hazardousness, there have been little efforts to quantify a well defined indicator. In this regard, the existing indicators are usually very plain and the overall configuration of roadside is rated by experts with an exact number describing its condition. Hence, the uncertainties which come with the subjective judgments cannot be regarded as of any substance. This research contribution therefore presents a procedure to assess the road safety (roadside safety indicator) by means of the evidential reasoning (ER) approach. The betterment of ER as opposed to the available procedures for roadside safety assessment is that the proposed approach makes allowance for the uncertainties which may arise from individual judgments. Additionally, when there is a dearth of evidence concerning factors which affect roadside hazardousness severity to collate several roadside segments, this procedure will offer the benefits of utilizing the maximum/minimum utility function. With the aid of the drawn indicator, organizations and agencies responsible for ensuring road safety can reach more flexible decisions to set in-place uncertain planning and road segments priorities. This indicator can also be utilized as a variable to include roadside conditions in crash severity prediction models. A field case study has also been carried out in an attempt to follow and validate the proposed approach which is based on the run-off accident history for a sample road segments. The crash data confirm the suggested indicator.     

Impact of perceptual countermeasures on driving behavior at curves using driving simulator

Objective: The probability of crash occurrence on horizontal curves is 1.5 to 4 times higher than that on tangent sections. A majority of these crashes are associated with human errors. Therefore, human behavior in curves needs to be corrected.

Methodology: In this study, 2 different road marking treatments, optical circles and herringbone patterns, were used to influence driver behavior while entering a curve on a 2-lane rural road section. A driving simulator was used to perform the experiment. The simulated road sections are replicas of 2 real road sections in Flanders.

Results: Both treatments were found to reduce speed before entering the curve. However, speed reduction was more gradual when optical circles were used. A herringbone pattern had more influence on lateral position than optical circles by forcing drivers to maintain a safe distance from opposing traffic in the adjacent lane.

Conclusion: The study concluded that among other low-cost speed reduction methods, optical circles are effective tools to reduce speed and increase drivers’ attention. Moreover, a herringbone pattern can be used to reduce crashes on curves, mainly for head-on crashes where the main problem is inappropriate lateral position.     

基于主成分分析法的城市道路交通安全评价

为客观地评价城市不同道路的交通安全水平,改善交通安全。从微观角度出发,采用主成分分析法(PCA)筛选出对城市道路交通安全有较大影响的主要指标,并结合统计软件SPSS计算出不同道路安全水平的综合评价值,得到不同道路的安全状况。实证结果表明:从微观角度用PCA对道路交通安全评价是可行的,且评价过程避免了主观随意性。在相关指标较多,且不易区分优劣的情况下,能够突现出部分指标因素对道路整体安全水平的影响,评价结果与实际情况一致。     

道路运营安全性评价方法与指标

笔者从道路交通设施系统客观安全性和道路用户主观安全性的角度,应用交通冲突分析技术、运行车速预测方法、行车动力学仿真分析[空间视距模型、人工神经网络(ANN)模型],研究并分析车辆在自由流和非自由流两种状态下运营安全性,提出跟驰风险指数、变换车道风险指数、高速行车风险指数,建立了服务于道路安全运营管理的道路交通设施系统及其运营安全性的分析评价方法和指标。     

Risk and safety perception on urban and rural roads: Effects of environmental features,driver age and risk sensitivity

Objective: The ability to detect changing visual information is a vital component of safe driving. In addition to detecting changing visual information, drivers must also interpret its relevance to safety. Environmental changes considered to have high safety relevance will likely demand greater attention and more timely responses than those considered to have lower safety relevance. The aim of this study was to explore factors that are likely to influence perceptions of risk and safety regarding changing visual information in the driving environment. Factors explored were the environment in which the change occurs (i.e., urban vs. rural), the type of object that changes, and the driver's age, experience, and risk sensitivity.

Methods: Sixty-three licensed drivers aged 18–70 years completed a hazard rating task, which required them to rate the perceived hazardousness of changing specific elements within urban and rural driving environments. Three attributes of potential hazards were systematically manipulated: the environment (urban, rural); the type of object changed (road sign, car, motorcycle, pedestrian, traffic light, animal, tree); and its inherent safety risk (low risk, high risk). Inherent safety risk was manipulated by either varying the object's placement, on/near or away from the road, or altering an infrastructure element that would require a change to driver behavior. Participants also completed two driving-related risk perception tasks, rating their relative crash risk and perceived risk of aberrant driving behaviors.

Results: Driver age was not significantly associated with hazard ratings, but individual differences in perceived risk of aberrant driving behaviors predicted hazard ratings, suggesting that general driving-related risk sensitivity plays a strong role in safety perception. In both urban and rural scenes, there were significant associations between hazard ratings and inherent safety risk, with low-risk changes perceived as consistently less hazardous than high-risk impact changes; however, the effect was larger for urban environments. There were also effects of object type, with certain objects rated as consistently more safety relevant. In urban scenes, changes involving pedestrians were rated significantly more hazardous than all other objects, and in rural scenes, changes involving animals were rated as significantly more hazardous. Notably, hazard ratings were found to be higher in urban compared with rural driving environments, even when changes were matched between environments.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that drivers perceive rural roads as less risky than urban roads, even when similar scenarios occur in both environments. Age did not affect hazard ratings. Instead, the findings suggest that the assessment of risk posed by hazards is influenced more by individual differences in risk sensitivity. This highlights the need for driver education to account for appraisal of hazards’ risk and relevance, in addition to hazard detection, when considering factors that promote road safety.     

交通主观安全感和客观安全感的博弈

安全交通行为主要表现在道路客观条件和道路使用者的交通安全意识的博弈。综述和评价交通心理领域主要的风险理论,行为-态度理论和任务-能力交互理论,总结出影响主观安全感和客观安全感的潜在因素和交互作用产生的博弈心理,试图揭示交通事故发生的个体层面的原因。分析结果表明:驾驶员安全驾驶行为是受到客观安全感(包括对路况、线性和道路环境等的评估)和个体主观安全感(主要是个性特征),这2种安全感的博弈共同影响着安全驾驶行为。     

Measuring and understanding road safety performance at local territorial level

Road safety performance has traditionally been measured at national level, because the national authorities have assumed main responsibility for managing road safety of citizens. With the rise of EU governance, the role of national government has slightly decreased while the role of local authorities has been reinforced in many countries, creating a new playfield for policy actions. Assessing road safety performance at local territorial level may provide new inputs needed to trigger further improvements in road safety, as it brings about a higher accountability of policy makers and brings relevant issues closer to citizens. The measures and methods for such evaluation have now become broadly available and their application may bring a difference in current pace of road safety improvements. An example of the application of full Bayes spatio-temporal model on local road risk data is provided, illustrating the potential of local areal analysis for a better road safety management.     

基于ISM的道路交通安全影响因素研究

为提高交通安全管理水平,促进交通的可持续发展。基于解释结构模型原理,综合考虑车、路和环境因素,构建了影响道路交通安全的影响因素结构模型。该模型不但能够弥补分析结构要素之间内在影响机制的不足,而且对于研究道路交通安全结构要素之间的层次性和复杂性有天然的优势。数据来源于由13位专家构成的ISM小组,其中7位为来自高校从事交通安全研究的教授,6位为来自北京市、上海市、广州市、武汉市等交通运输委员会的高层管理者,保证了数据的科学性和可靠性。采用解释结构图分析车、路和环境各影响因素之间的关系,结果表明,众多因素会对道路交通安全产生影响,车辆技术条件、定期检验合格率、车辆救援设备的完备状况、安全设施是制约道路交通安全的直接影响因素,道路限速、道路负荷度、大客(或货车)比例、交通量、交通监控是影响道路交通安全的间接因素,车辆超限(超载)状况、车流密度、道路路面类型、道路设施完备性、天气状况、单向车道数和地形特征是影响道路交通安全的最根本因素。为提高道路交通安全管理水平,首先,应进一步完善《道路交通安全法实施条例》,加强对车辆定期检验的监督;其次,健全道路信息公示制度,提升交通监控水平,引入相关路段道路限速、负荷度、交通量动态信息显示及预警机制;最后,加强车辆超限(超载)及车流密度的监控,健全道路设施的配套制度。     

关于区域环境保护政策的思考

本从通过分析我国环境保护政策存在的缺口和目前对这种理念的研究进展，并根据环境问题本身的特性以及环境问题产生的背景差异提出重新确立环境保护政策的调控范围的观点，并提出了这种观点对于对我国环境保护政策以及环境保护工作的重要意义。     

Investigation of speed and trajectory of motorcycle riders at curved road sections of two-lane rural roads under diverse lighting conditions

Introduction: Vehicular accidents at horizontal curves are over-represented compared to accidents that occur at tangent sections. Investigations have been conducted aimed at identifying the major causes that result in higher accident risk, both in terms of severity and rate, at curved road sections. Excessive or abrupt changes in speeding and improper vertical position are cited as major factors of lane departure, whereas other factors (either human or environmental) have also been documented. However, most research involves 4-wheel vehicles rather than other modes of transport that behave differently. More specifically, while motorcyclist fatalities occur more frequently than passenger vehicles, when accounting for vehicle distance traveled only a limited number of research studies address their behavior at curved road sections. Method: This paper presents the findings of field operational tests carried out by motorcyclists along two-lane rural roads with a wide range of horizontal curves using an instrumented motorcycle. Key objectives of the research included the conditions under which the motorcyclists differentiate their trajectory in regards to the direction of the horizontal curves, the correlation between the trajectory and the geometry of the road, and the impact of the lighting conditions on riders’ behavior. Results: The research showed that motorcyclists tend to ride closer to the centerline of the road, neglect the hazards associated with dim lighting conditions, and maintain constant speed in the left hand and the right-hand horizontal curves.     

模糊综合评价法在道路运输企业安全评价中的应用

我国道路运输企业交通安全形势比较严峻,推行道路运输企业安全综合评价是降低道路运输企业交通事故的有效途径之一.本文运用Delphi法和AHP法建立了道路运输企业安全层次分析模型,构建了安全综合评价指标体系.选用基于"差动"原理的赋权法--G1法计算各指标的权重,应用模糊综合评价法对其进行安全综合评价.采用平均加权法对评价因素的各项指标进行量化处理,从而得到道路运输企业安全的综合评价结果.最后,对陕西省一家道路运输企业进行了实际验证,比较真实地反映了此企业的安全状况.     

Pedestrian distraction: The effects of road environment complexity and age on pedestrian’s visual attention and crossing behavior

Introduction: Little is known about how characteristics of the environment affect pedestrians’ road crossing behavior. Method: In this work, the effect of typical urban visual clutter created by objects and elements in the road proximity (e.g., billboards) on adults and children (aged 9–13) road crossing behavior was examined in a controlled laboratory environment, utilizing virtual reality scenarios projected on a large dome screen. Results: Divided into three levels of visual load, results showed that high visual load affected children’s and adults’ road crossing behavior and visual attention. The main effect on participants’ crossing decisions was seen in missed crossing opportunities. Children and adults missed more opportunities to cross the road when exposed to more cluttered road environments. An interaction with age was found in the dispersion of the visual attention measure. Children, 9–10 and 11–13 years old, had a wider spread of gazes across the scene when the environment was highly loaded—an effect not seen with adults. However, unexpectedly, no other indication of the deterring effect was found in the current study. Still, according to the results, it is reasonable to assume that busier road environments can be more hazardous to adult and child pedestrians. Practical Applications: In that context, it is important to further investigate the possible distracting effect of causal objects in the road environment on pedestrians, and especially children. This knowledge can help to create better safety guideline for children and assist urban planners in creating safer urban environments.     

When may road fatalities start to decrease?

Introduction

The comparative analysis of macroscopic trends in road safety has been a popular research topic. The objective of this research is to propose a simple and, at the same time, reliable multiple regime model framework for international road safety comparisons, allowing for the identification of slope changes of personal risk curves and respective breakpoints.

Method

The trends of road traffic fatalities in several EU countries have been examined through the temporal evolution of elementary socioeconomic indicators, namely motorized vehicle fleet and population, at the country level.

Results

Piece-wise linear regression models have been fitted, using a methodology that allows the simultaneous estimation of all slopes and breakpoints. The number and location of breakpoints, as well as the slope of the connecting trends, vary among countries, thus indicating different road safety evolution patterns.

Impact on industry

Macroscopic analysis of road accident trends may be proved beneficial for the identification of best examples and the implementation of appropriate programmes and measures, which will lead to important benefits for the society and the economy through the reduction of road fatalities and injuries. Best performing countries and the related programmes and measures adopted may concern several safety improvements at the processes of the road, the vehicle and the insurance industries.

Conclusions

Lessons from the analysis of the past road safety patterns of developed countries provide some insight into the underlying process that relates motorization levels with personal risk and can prove to be beneficial for predicting the road safety evolution of developing countries that may have not yet reached the same breakpoints. Furthermore, the presented framework may serve as a basis to build more elaborate models, including more reliable exposure indicators (such as vehicle-km driven).     

The potential of vehicle and road infrastructure interventions in fatal bicyclist accidents on Swedish roads—What can in-depth studies tell us?

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this article is to describe the characteristics of fatal crashes with bicyclists on Swedish roads in rural and urban areas and to investigate the potential of bicycle helmets and different vehicle and road infrastructure interventions to prevent them. The study has a comprehensive approach to provide road authorities and vehicle manufacturers with recommendations for future priorities.

Methods: The Swedish Transport Administration’s (STA) in-depth database of fatal crashes was used for case-by-case analysis of fatal cycling accidents (2006–2016) on rural (n?=?82) and urban (n?=?102) roads. The database consists of information from the police, medical journals, autopsy reports, accident analyses performed by STA, and witness statements. The potential of helmet use and various vehicle and road infrastructure safety interventions was determined retrospectively for each case by analyzing the chain of events leading to the fatality. The potential of vehicle safety countermeasures was analyzed based on prognoses on their implementation rates in the Swedish vehicle fleet.

Results: The most common accident scenario on rural roads was that the bicyclist was struck while cycling along the side of the road. On urban roads, the majority of accidents occurred in intersections. Most accidents involved a passenger car, but heavy trucks were also common, especially in urban areas. Most accidents occurred in daylight conditions (73%). Almost half (46%) of nonhelmeted bicyclists would have survived with a helmet. It was assessed that nearly 60% of the fatal accidents could be addressed by advanced vehicle safety technologies, especially autonomous emergency braking with the ability to detect bicyclists. With regard to interventions in the road infrastructure, separated paths for bicyclists and bicycle crossings with speed calming measures were found to have the greatest safety potential. Results indicated that 91% of fatally injured bicyclists could potentially be saved with known techniques. However, it will take a long time for such technologies to be widespread.

Conclusions: The majority of fatally injured bicyclists studied could potentially be saved with known techniques. A speedy implementation of important vehicle safety systems is recommended. A fast introduction of effective interventions in the road infrastructure is also necessary, preferably with a plan for prioritization.     

基于AHP和灰色聚类的危化品道路运输安全评价

为客观评价危化品道路运输企业安全状况,防止危化品道路运输事故发生,提出基于层次分析法(AHP)和灰色聚类分析的危化品道路运输安全评价方法。首先以危化品与设备情况、环境情况、企业安全管理水平、在途监管水平及人员特性为一级指标构建危化品道路运输安全评价指标体系;其次,运用AHP计算各指标权重;最后,为了避免指标信息不完整所造成的误差,选用灰色聚类分析对各指标进行聚类分析,得出研究对象的安全等级。运用该方法对C企业危化品道路运输安全等级进行评价,评价结果显示该企业安全等级较高,但安全防护设备、交通状况、安全管理制度落实情况等指标安全性较低,同时验证了该方法具有适用性及有效性,为危化品道路运输企业安全评价提供了一种新的方法。     

Fatigued driver’s driving behavior and cognitive task performance: Effects of road environments and road environment changes

This study aims to explore the effects of different road environments and their changes on driving behaviors and cognitive task performance of fatigued drivers. Twenty-four participants volunteered in a 2 (road environment) × 3 (fatigue level) within-subjects factorial design simulated driving experiment. Participants were asked to perform basic numerical calculation and distance estimation of traffic signs when driving normally, and provide answers to a questionnaire on fatigue rating. Results show that fatigued drivers faced greater attention demand, were less alert, and tended to overestimate the distance to roadside traffic signs. Fatigue caused by driving in complex road environment had the greatest negative impact on driving behavior and visual distance estimation, and the fatigue transfer effect worsened significantly but differently on both driving behavior and performance of fatigued drivers when switching from a complex to a monotonous road environment and vice versa. Notably, this study shows that fatigued drivers performed relatively better in arithmetic tasks than non-fatigued ones. In addition, when switching from a monotonous to a complex road environment, drivers’ performance in visual distance estimation and arithmetic tasks improved though their driving behavior deteriorated, revealing that the fatigue effect upon drivers might be explained to some extent by their alertness and arousal levels.